


I'll Cover You Reprise

by RepublicaRevolutia



Category: Les Misérables - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Sad with a Happy Ending
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-10
Updated: 2019-10-10
Packaged: 2020-11-28 18:48:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,253
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20971307
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RepublicaRevolutia/pseuds/RepublicaRevolutia
Summary: “Eponine what are you doing?!” He shouted gripping her shoulders as she struggled away from him.  She was distraught and tears were starting to roll down her face.  She pulled away from Combeferre and looked down into the water, the others were still confused as to what was happening until Eponine pulled out her phone.She had called 911, “My friend Grantaire was attacked, a man pulled out a knife, I don’t know if he stabbed him, but he definitely pushed him off the bridge into the Seine.  I can’t see him!  He’s also got a head injury.  Please!” Eponine cried and the others all stopped dead in their tracks.  Before they knew it Enjolras had removed his shoes and plunged into the water, frantically looking for Grantaire.





	I'll Cover You Reprise

It started out like any other protest, things were going well, until they weren’t. The Amis had rushed to their meeting spot at the Musain when the riot had broken out. Enjolras had a bruise forming on his cheek, Combeferre’s glasses were busted, Feuilly was covered with feathers which was confusing until Bahorel showed up with a chicken. That really didn’t explain anything but somehow it made sense. Courfeyrac was covered in glitter and mud, Jehan’s tutu was torn (not sure why he was wearing a tutu, but still it was Jehan, so it made sense.) Eponine showed up dragging Gavroche behind her, both angry with each other, Eponine mad because Gavroche was told not to go, Gavroche because Eponine was treating him like a child. Marius and Cosette had come out mostly unscathed. Joly was fussing over Bossuet who sprained his ankle, and Musichetta was bringing drinks out for all of them. Everyone was there except Grantaire. The others were a mess, but they were all laughing a bit about the ridiculousness of the situation and they all seemed okay despite the seriousness of the riot.

Grantaire had stumbled in a minute later with a giant bloody gash across his forehead.

Bahorel dropped the chicken and it started roaming around the café. The others all looked over to Grantaire who was slumped against the wall.

“Grantaire! What happened?!” Enjolras shouted in shock as he rushed across the room to his boyfriend’s side.

“What do you think happened Apollo?” Grantaire spat and Enjolras took a step back, anger flashing over his face mixed with his concern at Grantaire holding his head, clearly in pain. “I got hit on the head with a rock somebody threw, because this protest turned into a riot, just like I told you it would.” He mumbled.

Enjolras was hurt and infuriated by this, it was bad enough that the protest had gone bad, he didn’t need Grantaire rubbing it in his face with an I told you so. “Out!” He hissed.

“Excuse me?” Grantaire asked looking up with a glare.

“Enjolras, don’t.” Combeferre warned but Enjolras ignored him.

“You heard me, get out! You choosing to rub in the protest’s failure is out of line! I don’t want to see you right now Grantaire! Get out!” Enjolras shouted.

“Enjolras, his head.” Joly squeaked as he was trying to examine Grantaire, “I think he has a concussion, not to mention he’s bleeding way too much.” everyone else was shocked into silence.

“He’ll be fine. The stubborn idiot that he is. I don’t want to see you for a while Grantaire, don’t bother coming home tonight.” Enjolras said rolling his eyes.

Hurt flashed over Grantaire’s face, but that quickly turned into a wry smile. “Don’t worry about its Joly, it’s better if I go.” Grantaire said with a sigh, peeling himself up from where he was propped against the wall. “Anything for Enjolras. I love you, and I’m sorry this happened.” Grantaire had said, sounding defeated, he staggered out the door and the group turned glaring at Enjolras who just rolled his eyes and slammed his fists down on a table.

“He has a right to be upset Enjolras. He got hurt, and you know the only reason he’s that upset is because he’s afraid that we’ll get hurt, or die, you more than anyone else.” Jehan said quietly.

“Sometimes I really don’t think that’s the case. I think he just likes getting in our way and shooting down my ideals.” Enjolras snapped.

“You’re blind Enjolras. You know he loves you and he just wants you to be safe. He doesn’t want you to fail.” Eponine spat angrily as she grabbed her things and stormed out of the café.

Combeferre opened his mouth to say something to Enjolras when they heard Eponine scream and they rushed outside to see what had happened. They saw a man running down the street and Eponine panicking as she pulled off her jacket and her shoes. She was about to jump off the bridge and into the seine when Combeferre rushed stopping her.

“Eponine what are you doing?!” He shouted gripping her shoulders as she struggled away from him. She was distraught and tears were starting to roll down her face. She pulled away from Combeferre and looked down into the water, the others were still confused as to what was happening until Eponine pulled out her phone.

She had called 911, “My friend Grantaire was attacked, a man pulled out a knife, I don’t know if he stabbed him, but he definitely pushed him off the bridge into the Seine. I can’t see him! He’s also got a head injury. Please!” Eponine cried and the others all stopped dead in their tracks. Before they knew it Enjolras had removed his shoes and plunged into the water, frantically looking for Grantaire.  
It wasn’t until a few minutes later that Bahorel had pulled Enjolras from the Seine. He didn’t want to be back on shore, he needed to find Grantaire. He was breathing heavily, and his eyes searched the water and the surrounding shore for any sign of Grantaire. There was nothing.

The emergency responders showed up and the Amis stayed and helped them comb the area for their friend for hours. They stayed there until the professionals had told them to go home to get some rest. Instead of going home the Amis just went back to the Musain for some coffee and to warm up.

“I should be out there looking for him! I need to find him!” Enjolras shouted as Combeferre and Courfeyrac pushed him into a seat and gave him some water to drink.

“Enjolras, it’s dark out, you’re soaked and freezing. You need to take some time to take care of yourself.” Combeferre said pushing the water into Enjolras’ hands.

“Why would somebody even do this to Grantaire?” Cosette asked sadly.

“The guy was yelling at him about being a part of our group. I didn’t catch much of anything, but the man clearly recognized him from the protest. I saw a knife, but it all happened so quickly. The next thing I knew Grantaire was falling over the edge and into the water and the man was gone.” Eponine cried.

Combeferre pulled her into a hug as she sobbed against his chest.

The group sat there quietly for what felt like hours, nervous and waiting. Then there were a group of the emergency responders standing there.

“Unfortunately, there’s still no sign of your friend, but we will continue to look. I have to ask though, do you guys recognize this?” The one asked as he lifted up a torn and bloody cloth.

“That’s Grantaire’s jacket.” Jehan said quickly jumping up, “What’s left of it anyway.”

The man holding it cleared his throat nervously. “It appears that a shark got at it.”

Enjolras’ breath caught in his throat and tears pricked at his eyes. 

“Shark?” A group of them asked at the same time.

“The only kind of shark I’ve ever heard of there being in the Seine is the Sleeper Shark, and there’s never been a report of them attacking a human.” Combeferre said quickly, attempting to calm his friends.

Eponine still let out a choked sob thinking about the possibilities.

“Your friend is right, there’s a chance that he lost his jacket and they just went after the smell of blood on the jacket.” The one man said.

“But he was bleeding too!” Eponine cried.

“If he had been attacked by a shark there’d be more evidence in the water, we would have seen…” one of them started but he was cut off by a swift elbow in the side by another.

“We’ll keep searching for your friend. You all can hold on to this.” The man said passing the jacket off to Eponine.

As Eponine took the jacket and the emergency responders left something fell out of the pocket of the jacket. Courfeyrac stepped forward and opened it up, gasping when he saw what it was. Though Courfeyrac was prone to his drama and they tended to do their best to ignore it, this small gasp got the entire groups attention.

“What is it?” Marius asked from where he was sitting with a crying Cosette.

“I don’t want to say.” Courfeyrac said hiding the object from view.

This refusal to show them is really what made the group decide that they needed to see it. “Please, Courfeyrac, you need to show us.” Jehan said and Courfeyrac sighed, finding it hard to refuse his boyfriends request.

“I don’t want it to make things worse.” Courfeyrac said quietly. “I don’t want to hurt Enj.” 

Enjolras spoke for the first time in hours, “I don’t know if I can hurt much more than I’m already hurting. Please just show us.” Enjolras said looking at Courfeyrac pitifully.

“I’m sorry.” Courfeyrac said somberly as he passed Enjolras the box.

Enjolras opened the box and gaped at what he saw. “What is it?” Bossuet asked as the group looked at Enjolras, concerned.

“It’s an engagement ring.” Enjolras’ voice cracked, “Grantaire was going to propose.”

“Oh, Enjolras.” Combeferre said moving over to comfort his best friend.

“Well, I was wrong.” Enjolras said bitterly.

“Wrong about what sweetie?” Musichetta asked from where she was sitting with her boyfriends.

“Apparently I can hurt more.” Enjolras choked out as he clutched the ring, sobbing, dropping to the floor on his knees. He began to scream, curling in on himself as tears streamed down his face.  
Combeferre and Courfeyrac quickly dropped down to his side and pulled him into a hug. The rest of the group slowly went over joining them, making themselves into a massive cuddle pile. They stayed there until morning.

The search for Grantaire continued for the next week, and still no sight of him. With every day that went by Enjolras heart broke even more. He put the ring on a necklace and he never took it off. He didn’t think it was right to wear it on his finger since Grantaire never got the chance to ask him, but he couldn’t let it go. He kept it as a promise that he wouldn’t let go of Grantaire. The group had continued to tell stories about Grantaire, trying to make each other laugh and feel better about the entire situation. It didn’t bring Grantaire back, but it made the waiting for news more bearable.

“Remember when Grantaire found out that Marius was pining over Cosette, and he was all upset because he thought that she was dating Enjolras? Of course, he didn’t specifically tell us it was Enjolras he thought she was dating, so we couldn’t tell him how wrong he was. Remember Marius?” Courfeyrac asked with a giggle.

Marius flushed red, but a grin broke across his face. “I didn’t know that you two were siblings yet and I got jealous.” He confessed, “that was horrible, but I have to admit, Grantaire did make me feel much better.”

“I don’t think I’ve heard this one.” Cosette said laughing glancing between Marius and Courfeyrac.

“Oh, you’ll love this Cosette.” Musichetta said shaking her head.

“So, Marius walks in, late to our meeting okay, and he’s all distraught that his mystery dream girl was with some guy. Grantaire got up and starts singing.” Combeferre said quickly as he wrapped his arm around Eponine.

“Wait, singing?” Cosette asked excitedly.

“The best part is that Marius knew the song and decided to go along with it. AND THEY DANCED.” Joly said giggling hysterically.

“NO?” Cosette asked astonished. “What was the song?”

“Mushnik and Son.” Marius said laughing and shaking his head as he leaned his head back against the wall. “From Little Shop of Horrors.”

“It was amazing.” Jehan said giggling.

“We got nothing else done that meeting.” Enjolras said with a scoff, but a grin slid over his face as well. “But Grantaire did cheer Marius up, and that made him really happy that he was able to help. Plus, it was a really great performance. I also didn’t realize that you thought I was dating my sister.”

“I wish I could have seen it.” Cosette said sadly.

“I think I got part of it on video.” Bossuet said pulling out his phone quickly but then sighed. “Right, that video would have been on my old phone, the one that I dropped over the waterfall.”  
The other’s faces all fell at that. There were so many memories they had, but there were so many more that they wanted to make with Grantaire.

The next few days were all a blur to the Les Amis, and after a while as the hope started to fade the stories became harder to tell, and their laughter had vanished almost completely.  
Enjolras was curled up in bed one day listening to the songs on Grantaire’s ipod. He had found a playlist that was titled, Proposal, and Enjolras had cried himself to sleep. He couldn’t help but think, if he had just listened to Grantaire and not gone through with the protest, or if he hadn’t yelled at him and kicked him out, then the two of them would probably be engaged right now and happy. Instead Enjolras was alone, in bed, with the thoughts of what could have been, what should have been, haunting him.

There was a knock at the door and Combeferre was there.

“We’re having a meeting in the living room.” He said and Enjolras silently nodded his head following his friend out to join the others.

“Is there news on Grantaire?” Enjolras asked hopefully and the others just all looked down at the ground mournfully.

“Unfortunately, no. But there’s going to be a funeral next week.” Combeferre said as calmly as he could.

“A funeral?” Enjolras asked incredulously. “But Grantaire isn’t dead!”

“Enjolras. We all hate to say it, but it’s been two weeks. He fell in with a head wound and possibly stabbed. They haven’t been able to find him.” Feuilly said carefully.

“Exactly! They haven’t found him! There’s no body, he’s still alive!” Enjolras protested, refusing to listen to his friends.

“Enjolras. They’ve called all the hospitals in the area, there’s no sign of him. We don’t know what happened to him, but Enjolras I’m not sure we’ll ever know. We need closure.” Combeferre said still staying calm.

“If we have a funeral, we’ll be giving up hope of finding him.” Enjolras whimpered. “Having a funeral for him when we don’t even know if he’s alive or dead feels like giving up on him, and I’m not giving up on Grantaire.”

“We’re not giving up on him Enjolras.” Eponine said quickly, looking up at Enjolras, and Enjolras saw her tear-filled eyes. “But if, IF, he’s really gone. He deserves to have the best funeral we can give him. None of us want him to be gone. We all love him, so much.”

“Okay.” Enjolras said swallowing hard and shutting his eyes letting some tears escape. He took a deep breath and nodded his head letting it out. “But if we’re going to do this, we’re going to do it right.” 

The next thing they knew it was the day of the funeral. The funeral was very Grantaire, they had a picture of Grantaire up front instead of a casket since they didn’t even have a body, and the entire group was devastated at the thought that they might not even be able to see him again. They were playing songs off of Grantaire’s ipod and the group had put together a slideshow with photographs of Grantaire with the group. Grantaire’s family didn’t want to have anything to do with the funeral, according to them their son died years ago when he decided that he wanted to go to school for art. So, the Les Amis were Grantaire’s family. They stood in line and received condolences from all of the other people that Grantaire knew from school, boxing, fencing, dancing, and any other thing that Grantaire was a part of. Eventually it was time for them to get up and share about Grantaire.

Eponine was the first one to stand up, she took a deep shaky breath and started. “Grantaire and I always joked about being platonic life partners.” She started which got a bit of a laugh from everyone else, “He could be such an idiot sometimes, but that was one of the best parts about him. Sometimes life got too serious, and he always knew how to lighten the mood and make things okay again. When Gavroche and I had to get away from our parents, Grantaire took us in, and I’ll always be thankful of him for that. We tried to do what we could to take care of Gavroche, and, I don’t know what we’re going to do without him. Without Grantaire, it’s hard to imagine that things will ever really be okay again.” Eponine said as her voice broke and she started crying.

Combeferre started to move to go comfort her but Gavroche beat her to the punch. He rushed up and grabbed his sister’s hand and started talking himself. “Grantaire helped my sister and I the best he could. He was always around, even when we still lived with our parents. Sometimes he would even come and pick us up to take us to his place, even if we called him at three in the morning, he was always there. He worked extra hard to help take care of me, and he taught me how to box, and he always helped me with my homework. He was like an older brother, but he and Eponine both basically became my parents. Thanks to Grantaire, I got to have something pretty close to a normal family. They were better parents to me than the ones I started with. I love both of them so much, and when Eponine started dating Combeferre and Grantaire started dating Enjolras, it was like I had four parents, and I couldn’t believe how lucky I was. But I guess that luck had to run out eventually… I’m going to miss coming home every day to be lifted up on Grantaire’s shoulders. I’m going to miss him chasing me around the apartment and tickling me to the ground until I can’t breathe anymore, and I’m going to miss him singing me songs at night when I’m having nightmares and can’t sleep. I’ll miss everything about him, and I’ll never forget everything he’s ever done for me.” Gavroche said sadly but firmly, and as he started crying Eponine lifted him up and carried him back down to their seats and she continued to hold him as Feuilly got up to talk about Grantaire.

“I don’t really know where I can start with Grantaire… I didn’t have the same family relationship with him like Eponine and Gavroche, but I did think of him as family. There were many nights in college in which Grantaire and I would meet up in the art studios and spend our nights in there painting together, and there were quite a few times that I came in to find Gavroche with him.” Feuilly laughed, “I think most people know the idea of everything getting funnier the more tired you get, and there were so many nights that we started out painting and the two of us ended up laying on the floor laughing hysterically, covered in paint. He always knew how to make me laugh, and he was the most talented artist that I’ve ever met. I was always so jealous of his talents and though nothing I ever did really seemed to compare to what Grantaire was making, he always complemented my work, and he always kept encouraging me to keep going. We always encouraged each other. Grantaire didn’t seem to have much hope for anything going well, so him encouraging me to keep going, really told me that he truly thought that I was doing well, and some days knowing he thought I was doing a good job was the only thing that kept me working on my art. If it weren’t for Grantaire I would have given up on my passion a long time ago. I wish I could thank him for all of that.” Feuilly finished with a cough, trying to keep from crying in front of everyone. He gave a curt nod and then walked back down to his seat letting Marius and Cosette take his place. The two of them talking about how Grantaire had been incredible friends to the both of them and had even helped the two of them get together. How Grantaire was the best dance partner either of them had ever had, and how much they loved him and owed him.

Things continued like this, Joly and Bossuet talked about how Grantaire was the fourth wheel to their relationship, but they loved having him as part of their family. Musichetta had joked saying that if she didn’t have her hands full with the boyfriends that she had, she would have happily added Grantaire to the group. Eponine and Cosette both laughed, having to agree to that. Bahorel had talked about how Grantaire was his partner in crime and how he would never forget the time that Grantaire had been able to get Bahorel out of jail somehow by using duct tape, a broken mirror, and a stick of butter. He had no idea how he did it, and when Bahorel had asked Grantaire had just answered saying, “Scotland”. Bahorel never asked again, afraid to know what that really meant. Courfeyrac had talked about the times that Grantaire had taken care of a very drunk Courfeyrac back when he was still pining over Jehan. Grantaire had given up his bed to Courfeyrac every time, held him when he was throwing up and or crying, made sure he had water and medicine, and had fed and clothed Courfeyrac while giving him words of encouragement. Because that was the kind of man Grantaire was, is. Jehan had talked about Grantaire always helping him to get inspired with his poetry and going out of his way to do anything and everything to cheer the poet up when he was feeling down. Combeferre had talked about his long late-night debates and talks with Grantaire, about anything and everything, and how happy Combeferre was that Grantaire had not only helped him get together with Eponine, but he had welcomed him into their makeshift family. Even Montparnasse had gotten up to talk about Grantaire, and it had finally come down to Enjolras. 

Enjolras stood up and walked up to the front of the room and he cleared his throat. “The last thing that I had said to Grantaire, was, don’t bother coming home tonight. I had said so many other horrible things, and I had thrown him out. Just a moment later he was attacked and even though I had been angry with him, I’d give anything to go back and redo things. The last thing that he had said to me was that he loved me, and that he was sorry about what had happened with our protest."

He bit his lip and looked up to the ceiling, willing himself not to cry.

"He said I love you, and I said don’t bother coming home. The past few days, I’ve been struggling with this, and I’ve been told numerous times that I didn’t do this to him, that none of this was my fault. After giving that some thought I can say that everyone is right in saying that Grantaire wouldn’t want me to blame myself. That’s the kind of person that Grantaire was… is… he was always doing things for other people, and he never wanted anything in return. It didn’t matter if it put Grantaire out, he just wanted his friends to be safe and happy. That’s just one of the many things that I love about him. That’s the thing though, I didn’t tell him that, he said I love you, and I told him I didn’t want to see him. Now I’d give anything to see him again but now it’s too late. But I can’t not say it now, I love him, I loved everything about him."

He looked back out at the audience and let out a shuddering laugh as his eyes welled up with tears.

"I loved that he was constantly annoying me, he could tear apart my speeches in a matter of seconds and I love that he was able to help me strengthen my arguments. I loved his love for our friends, his ability to make everyone laugh even when it felt like none of us would ever be able to laugh again. Now it feels like the sun will never shine again, it feels like we’ll never be able to laugh again, and now we need him more than ever, and he’s not here. He won’t be able to surprise me with food to make sure that I’m eating something, he won’t be there to drag me out to make sure that I’m not overworking myself, he’s not here to make me crack a smile or make me laugh so hard I feel like I’ll cry. I wish I could tell him how much I need him; I wish that I could tell him how much I love him. He’s the light of my life, and it hurts me every moment that he’s not here. There was a meeting a few weeks back, and we were all so upset that it had decided to storm on the day of our protest, hardly anyone had shown up, and we were all soaked and sitting pitifully in the back room. Nobody was talking, it was dead quiet, and that’s when Grantaire started singing La Vie Bohme, because he really loves Rent, and I mean we had watched it together so many times as a group. He had said that just because this protest didn’t turn out the way that we wanted it to didn’t mean that it was the end, that we were a group of crazy weirdos, living our lives the way that we wanted to, and we shouldn’t let rain stop us, or anything else. For some reason I was convinced for a while that he really didn’t care about my ideals, but thinking back to these moments, I should never have been so stupid...” Enjolras said, taking a deep breath and shutting his eyes. 

“Live in my house, I’ll be your shelter, just pay me back with one thousand kisses, be my lover, and I’ll cover you, yeah.” Enjolras started singing. He let his eyes fall shut and imagined Grantaire’s smiling face, “Open your door, I’ll be your tenant, don’t got much baggage to lay at your feet, but sweet kisses I’ve got to spare, I’ll be there, and I’ll cover you, oh. I think they meant it when they said you can’t buy love, now I know you can rent it, a new lease you are my love, on life, all my life, I’ve longed to discover something as true as this is, yeah.” 

He imagined Grantaire’s sweet kisses, him warm, holding him in bed. Gripping his hand. Loving eyes. He remembered every mean word shouted, every loving word exchanged, and every moment spent with his beautiful cynic. He looked over at the photo of Grantaire and he wrapped his arms around himself and let tears fall down his face. “I’m so sorry Aire.” He stared at the photograph of Grantaire, smiling and laughing. Enjolras’ heart was broken. He gripped the ring he was wearing on the chain around his neck as he then let himself be helped back to his seat by his friends.

To Enjolras, the rest of the funeral went by in a blur. It didn't feel real. He wished that none of this was real.

“I think Grantaire would have really liked that.” Marius said quietly as the Amis had gathered in the back room of the Musain after the funeral.

“I know he would have” A man said as he stepped through the door. Before anybody else could say anything else he continued, “I have some good news for you all. My name is inspector Javert, and your friend Grantaire is alive.”

Enjolras was the first to his feet as he started storming over to the man, “If you are joking, I will single handedly tear you, limb from limb, and toss your body parts into the Seine.” He spat venomously.

“It’s not a joke.” Javert said calmly as the blonde revolutionary approached him. “Grantaire is alive, but unconscious still. He should be waking up soon however and his wounds are healing quite nicely. We widened our search parameters and found him in a hospital further out than was expected. Apparently Grantaire was brought onto a man’s fishing boat and was rushed to the nearest one, and he didn’t have an ID, so he was listed as a John Doe. The man who saved him had seen the story about the funeral on the news and he called. Your friend is alive.” The group was overjoyed, tears springing from their eyes, truly happy for the first time in three weeks. “Here’s the address for the hospital. When he wakes up, we’ll be giving him some time, but we will want to question all of you on what happened, who attacked him, and possibly about any groups that this man could be a part of, that we would want to investigate.” Javert continued as he passed a card to Combeferre who took it happily. The card had Javert's contact information on it and the address and room number for the hospital so they could go see Grantaire.

“Thank you, sir, we’ll let you know anything that we know. Really, thank you.” Combeferre said smiling.

The group had rushed to leave and go see Grantaire, however Enjolras stayed behind a bit. “Inspector Javert? Like, Grantaire’s uncle Javert?” Enjolras asked carefully and Javert looked at him with a slight smile.

“That would be me.” Javert said quietly.

“Thank you for not only finding Grantaire now, but also for taking care of him when he was younger. He’s told me a lot about you.” Enjolras said tentatively holding out his hand for Javert to shake.

“And I you. I hope that I’ll be seeing a lot more of you, I wouldn’t mind having you as part of our family. And believe me when I say, when I find the man who did this, I’m going to make sure that he’s punished to the full extent of the law.” Javert said shaking Enjolras’ hand, and Enjolras gave him a smile.

“When you find him, let me know and maybe let me get in a punch or two first?” He asked and Javert gave a laugh.

“I’ll see what I can do. Now, go get him.” Javert said, the two exchanging one last smile, then Enjolras rushed out the door to join his friends and see Grantaire.

When the group of them got to the hospital, they rushed straight to the room number that Javert had given them. The staff had attempted to protest the number of people going into the room but after Courfeyrac’s dramatic tale of the story, the staff relented and let them all go in, but with directions to inform them when he woke up. So, the group piled into the small room where Grantaire was still passed out, hooked up to a few machines. 

Enjolras felt like he wanted to cry… upset that Grantaire was in a hospital hooked up to machines and could have died; but he was also overjoyed that Grantaire was in a hospital hooked up to machines, recovering, and not dead.

An hour passed before Grantaire started to stir; the entire group had been talking and laughing, now happy that they were going to be able to talk to their friend again and tell him just how much he means to every one of them. They were eagerly anticipating him waking up so much so that they were excitedly telling more and more stories about Grantaire.

“So, we’re out camping you know, and we were taking a walk and we passed by a group of teenagers, I mean like high school kids, two guys two girls, and the guys were clearly planning on getting lucky with these girls this weekend. Okay so Grantaire and I come up with the bright idea of messing with them. So, we remembered where the campsite was and later that night we came back. The guys were telling the girls these really cheesy campfire stories, trying to scare the girls into going to them for protection. The girls are voicing their discomfort, clearly, they only thought of the guys as friends, while the guys had other intentions. So, Grantaire gets this idea. Next thing these kids know, Grantaire and I are running through their campsite, buck naked, dripping in red paint of Grantaire’s that you know, looked like blood. We started running in circles around them and Grantaire starts chanting in Latin. Grantaire threw a firecracker and a smoke bomb into the fire and the bang went off and when the puff of smoke filled the air, he and I high tailed it out of there. We hid in the bushes, the smoke cleared, and the kids looked around horrified. The one guy I’m pretty sure peed his pants. Of course, Grantaire being Grantaire left behind a note that said, no means no so don’t do anything stupid, signed the local drunkards. I don’t know what happened to those kids but we stopped by again in the morning and we found a plate with smores on it, and a note saying, dear attractive naked men that ran through our campsite, thanks for the warning and the show, signed the girls who’d like to see that show again. They gave us their numbers and everything.” Bahorel said in a serious tone as all the others who burst into laughter.

Enjolras sighed a little and Courfeyrac smirked, “Thinking about Grantaire’s private shows for you?” which got another laugh from the group.

“Well yes, but also, what if I never get that again, what if he wakes up and decides that I cause too much trouble and he doesn’t want me anymore?” Enjolras said mournfully.

“Enjolras, if you think there’s a world in which Grantaire will ever walk away from you, then you’re dumber than I’ve ever thought possible.” Eponine said quickly.

“I know he loves me, but Eponine, I nearly got him killed. He could have died, we thought he died.” Enjolras’ voice broke.

“No Enjolras, the rest of us had given up hope, but you refused to give up. And none of this was your fault. You have to believe that.” Eponine shot back just as fast.

“I’m not sure I can.” Enjolras murmured.

“Oh, come on Enjolras, even I believe that.” Grantaire groaned from the bed as he slowly let his eyes flutter open, still not focusing on anything or anyone in the room.

“Grantaire!” They all shouted excitedly going in for hugs and kisses which made Grantaire’s eyes widen in shock and confusion.

Grantaire groaned once more and the others all backed off giving him space to breathe.

“I hope we didn’t hurt you too bad.” Marius said quietly.

Grantaire looked up and gave Marius a sincere smile. “don’t you fret Marius, I don’t feel any pain, as long as you all are with me.”

They knew he was actually in pain, but it made sense that he could endure it with a little help from his friends. It was quite the endearment.

“We’re so glad you’re with us.” Cosette trilled happily.

“I’m glad too, although, I can’t say I know how I got here. I remember that guy yelling at me and threatening me. He threatened to kill the leader of the group, he said he’d killed the blonde one who’s in charge, he threatened to kill Enjolras. So, I grabbed his arm before he could go in, because of the head wound I didn’t see the knife until it was in me. He pushed me back, I hit the water. I think I took my jacket off before I blacked out… My jacket?!” He questioned quickly, looking terrified.

“Don’t worry about it.” Jehan said placing a gentle hand on Grantaire’s shoulder.

“No, you don’t get it, there was something important in the pocket.” Grantaire tried again, attempting to sit up.

“Grantaire the jacket was pulled up from the bottom of the Seine. It was torn up, looked like a shark got to it, probably after smelling the blood on it.” Bossuet started.

Grantaire’s face paled even more than before, “oh.” He said quietly. “Well I guess it doesn’t matter anyway.” He whispered looking down at the bed.

“Grantaire, the box was still in the pocket.” Enjolras said a bit nervously. Grantaire’s head shot up looking at Enjolras in shock.

“Maybe we should give these two some space.” Combeferre suggested quickly, ushering the others out of the room.

When the two of them were alone Enjolras sat on the bed next to Grantaire’s legs. “So, you found the box?” Grantaire asked cautiously.

“Yes.” Enjolras breathed out.

“Look, I’m sorry, after our argument I’m sure that’s the last thing that you wanted to find. I’ll understand if this is too much for you, if you want to break up with me.” Grantaire started and Enjolras looked up at him incredulously.

“Grantaire, I do not want to break up. After our argument you were stabbed and pushed off of a bridge into the river and already with a head wound. We called the police, I jumped in after you, searching for you. I couldn’t find you and the police combed the river for hours, they couldn’t find you. They found your jacket, bloody, and torn up by a shark. Then Courfeyrac found the box, and at first, he wouldn’t let me see what was inside because he didn’t want to make me feel worse. I didn’t think that whatever was in that box would make me feel worse, but when I saw that ring, it hurt; it hurt so bad Grantaire, because you were missing, and we all knew that you could have been dead. I clung to that ring like a lifeline, hoping and praying that you would show up alive, that the last words I ever spoke to you wouldn’t have been those horrible words I said to you. I should have never said those things, and I just wanted you to come back, and for us to get engaged, get married, and be happy. I love you Grantaire, and you were missing for three weeks! We even had a funeral for you, because the others wanted closure, and I felt like having a funeral was giving up on you, and I wasn’t ready to give up, I couldn’t, because I needed you to be alive more than I needed anything else in the world. Don’t you dare talk about breaking up with me because after these three weeks, after your funeral today, I just got you back, and I know my heart couldn’t take it.” Enjolras sobbed out as he pulled out the necklace that he had the engagement ring on, from under his shirt. Grantaire looked at him in shock first but then pulled him into a tight hug. Enjolras continued sobbing and gasping for breath as Grantaire rubbed soothing circles into his back. "Please, don't leave me."

“I didn’t know, Enj, I love you, and I want to be with you as long as you’ll have me. I’m not going anywhere. I promise. I didn’t know you kept it with you.” Grantaire said calmly, soothingly into Enjolras’ ear.

Enjolras pulled back a little, his lower lip still quivering as he wiped tears off his face. He looked down at the ring around his neck and nodded his head, “I couldn’t let it go, letting it go meant letting go of you, and I couldn’t. But it didn’t feel right to put it on my finger. I was so afraid that you had actually died, afraid that I’d never see you again. I don’t ever want to lose you again, please don’t leave me again.” He whimpered.

“Enjolras, look at me please.” Grantaire said gently tilting his head up. “I’ve lost three weeks of my life, and apparently almost lost the chance to propose. I’m not wasting anymore time.” Grantaire said with a slight smile and Enjolras’ eyes shot up, meeting Grantaire’s, a glimmer of hope shining through his tear-soaked eyes. “Enjolras, will you marry me?” Grantaire said with a grin and Enjolras yelped out a yes, lunging forward and crashing his lips against Grantaire’s in an urgent and hungry kiss; he didn’t let go until Grantaire pulled back.

Enjolras whined a bit at the loss but this only made Grantaire laugh, “Enj, as much as I’d love to continue this, I’m in a hospital bed still hooked up to a bunch of machines. So how about we slip the ring on your finger and then we can see what the doctors say about when I can go home?” He asked and Enjolras nodded his head with a slight smile.

He took the ring off the necklace and passed it to Grantaire who slipped it onto Enjolras’ ring finger, making Enjolras positively beam. 

“I love you, so much, more than anything in the world.” Enjolras said leaning in again and pressing his lips to Grantaire’s.

“I love you too.” Grantaire said grinning ear to ear when Enjolras pulled back.

A few hours later Grantaire was cleared to go home with only minor injuries. He was cleared to go back to his normal everyday activities. Enjolras had helped bring Grantaire back home and brought him straight to the couch.

“Enjolras, I’ve slept plenty, I’m not tired right now, so what do we want to do first? I’m good to do things, we could go sit and watch a movie, or start planning the wedding, make food, take a shower, anything.” Grantaire said, honestly confused as Enjolras made him lay down in on the couch and he fought to sit back up.

“We can do all of those things. But this first.” Enjolras said as he pulled Grantaire back down, curling up against him and breathing in his scent. Grantaire smiled as Enjolras tucked his head against him and fell asleep.

“You missed you pillow, didn’t you?” Grantaire asked laughing and Enjolras let out a snore. Grantaire just shook his head and let himself enjoy the feeling of Enjolras in his arms. “Get your rest Apollo.”

Grantaire let Enjolras sleep and when he woke up again Grantaire had just smiled and ordered them food. Enjolras finally felt like things were going to be okay again.

“I’m so glad that you’re back.” Enjolras said later as the two of them were cuddled on the couch together eating take out and watching a movie.

Grantaire pulled him closer and he pressed a kiss to his head, “I’ll always do my best to find my way back to you Enjolras. I love you.”

“I love you too.” Enjolras said happily as he curled up next to Grantaire. He had his love back. Everything else could wait.

**Author's Note:**

> My roommate says she just wants to take Grantaire away from me and put him somewhere I can't hurt him. I swear I love him being happy and I plan on writing pure fluff for him one day. But I think the happiness is always more satisfying when it takes work to get there. As usual, I'm practicing my writing so I hope you all enjoy what comes out of my head. Kudos and comments are greatly appreciated.
> 
> Also, I remember looking up if there were sharks in the Seine, so like I'm pretty sure that one kind showed up there before, maybe, maybe not, I just went with it. I wouldn't quote me on my accuracy.


End file.
